Getting Through It
by Maisie Malfoy
Summary: Draco comes to the Room of Requirement because he needs a place to practice Animagus training. Luna comes to the Room of Requirement because it reminds her of having friends. At first, Draco thinks Loony Lovegood is, well, loony for thinking he has anything to master this skill for. But what if Luna is just the push Draco really needs, in more ways than one?


**Written for CrimsonGoldQueen at the Drabble Game Challenge on HPFC. Draco/Luna, prompt: "someone finding out their Animagus form"**

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Draco had taken to coming to the Room of Requirement even when he had nothing to plan for the Dark Lord. Sometimes he just needed to sit and mull things over where he knew no one would burst in on him.

Mostly, though, he came to practice magic. At first, he came in search of a place to work on his Occlumency (lessons with dear Auntie Bella were positively terrifying). Later, though, he slipped in to practice Disarming (he hated to admit it, but Potter might have an idea). He even went there once to write a letter to his mother he could not stand the thought of anyone else reading.

Eventually, one day, Draco decided he ought to become an Animagus.

He chose a book from the library about how to become an Animagus, and abided by its rules. For one long, grueling month, Draco held the leaf of a Mandrake in his mouth, even as he ate and slept. He snuck into the Forbidden Forest at night just to find untainted dew, and then took his potion for hiding in the Room of Requirement, where he might as well have lived anyway.

When the day finally came for Draco to attempt the transformation, he deposited Crabbe outside the door and entered the Room of Requirement. Just as he was about to discover what creature awaited, Draco heard a rustling.

He was not alone.

"Who's there?" Draco questioned. "Show yourself!"

A pair of pale silver eyes greeted him. "Hello, Draco Malfoy."

"Loony Lovegood? Why are you here?"

"Oh, I just come here sometimes to clear my head. It reminds me of when I had friends." said Luna, smiling slightly at Draco. "Why are you here?"

"You don't pry like that, you little Mudblood! Now leave so I can do what I came here for!"

"I don't think that's very nice," said Luna, not bothering to point out that her parents were a witch and wizard.

Something about the way Luna said that made Draco change his tune. "Who else is here?"

"Oh, no one. It's just you and me."

"Do you promise you'll keep this between us?" Draco asked Luna.

She smiled again. "Of course."

When Draco walked away slightly and tried for his first transformation, he found himself sporting fur from his elbows and a jaunty tail under his robes. "Why did I bother with this?" he moaned aloud to himself.

"Don't give up, Draco Malfoy. All you need is practice."

Draco continued to practice, but only succeeded in making his tail longer. What did he even _want_ to become an Animagus for? The Dark Lord? Ha! His family? What use did they have for an Animagus, let alone a furry boy with a long tail? He hoped the fur could be cursed off before anyone else saw him like this.

"Guess I'll be going then." he said, starting to make his way to the door.

"Don't be discouraged, Draco Malfoy. I've often found that giving up gives the future self an excuse not to try." said Luna.

"Okay then," _Merlin, that girl really is loony,_ Draco thought as he left to remove his fur.

Later in the week, Draco decided to go back to the Room of Requirement to try his transformation again. He refused to admit it to himself, but he planned to leave if Loony Lovegood was a no-show.

"Is there someone here?" he asked.

Silence. But as Draco turned to leave, he heard, "Hello, Draco Malfoy. I thought you might come back."

Although Draco got no further in mastering the transformation, he left feeling a bit better than he had the first time. Luna left the Room of Requirement feeling considerably better than she had the first time. As she got to know his personality and what he was like under his societal mask, Luna was beginning to like Draco as a friend.

They developed a routine. Draco would come to the Room of Requirement and attempt his transformation. Luna would come to the Room of Requirement, and if Draco was there, she would simply watch, never laughing, never pointing out his fluffy ears, just watching.

Finally, on an unseasonably warm day that suggested spring was soon dying, Draco went to the Room of Requirement again. He expected Loony to be outside, but as usual she was also in the room, leaning against a stack of old Daily Prophets.

"You've come to transform again?" asked Luna.

"I have," said Draco.

He checked that he had remembered to do everything needed before his attempt. When his check was finished, Draco disappeared.

In his place was a Siamese cat.

Draco had thought Luna might gasp, or smother him with praise, or even ask him to teach her how to do it. Instead, Luna simply said, "I like your Animagus. It's very pretty."

Draco meowed and returned himself to his usual state.

"So?"

Luna gave him a bigger smile than usual. "It suits you."

No sooner than Luna had uttered these words did Draco remember something: Tonight was the night Draco was to bring the Death Eaters into the school. Tonight the school's beloved headmaster would be dead. Tonight he would have to taint his soul.

And the night would claim the sky soon.

As much as he wanted to stand here with Luna forever, he forced himself to say, "You should go, Loony, no, _Luna_. It-it's almost dinnertime."

"Okay, Draco Malfoy." Before Draco could do anything else, Luna had kissed his forehead and was skipping off toward s the door.

When he heard her shut the door, Draco made his way to the Vanishing Cabinet. Thinking to himself he was changing his entire world for the worse, he pulled it open, managed the transformation again, and slipped back to the Slytherin dorm as a cat. Maybe this war would be better if Draco could have Luna to get him through it.

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 **I decided Draco's Animagus form would be a Siamese cat because like these cats, he is definitely aware of his superiority, but he also holds love for his family, and his personality lines up with that of a Siamese cat.**

 **Reviews are always appreciated.**


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